GA GRIDDERS LOSE FIRST

    Milbank scored with 2:45 remaining to hand Groton Area’s football squad its first loss of the season 32-28 in a Northeast Conference tussle on Friday.
    The Tigers fell to 2-1 heading into their homecoming matchup with Deuel on Friday.  Milbank improved its mark to 2-1.
    “Our kids played well,” said GA boss Shaun Wanner.  “We had more positives than negatives.  Our offense played well.  Defensively we gave up too many big plays.  It was a good football game between two good teams.”
    The Tigers hope to get back on the win track this week against a strong Deuel squad that made the Class 11B quarterfinals last season.  The Cardinals are 1-2 with losses to Aberdeen Roncalli 21-12 and Flandreau 21-0, and a 40-0 victory over Sisseton.
    “Deuel is a very good football team,” noted Wanner.  “They have some size and play some very talented young players.  It’s homecoming for both us and Langford this week, so hopefully we can both celebrate a homecoming victory.”
    The two squads combined for 27 points over the first three quarters but exploded for 33 points in the final stanza in a contest that saw six lead changes.
    Milbank drew first blood on a 30-yard scoring toss, the first of four touchdown passes thrown by Bulldogs quarterback Braylen Bowsher, who hit 9-11 attempts for 288 yards.  Groton Area countered with a seven-yard TD pass from Ryder Johnson to Korbin Kucker and Milbank led 7-6 at halftime.
    The Tigers grabbed their first lead when Kucker broke loose on a 47-ayrd scamper and Johnson added the conversion run to go up 14-7, and GA still led 14-13 after three periods when Milbank connected on a 68-yard scoring toss.
    Just 31 seconds into the fourth period Milbank went back on top 19-14 on a Bowsher one-yard run, but Christian Ehresmann hauled in a 28-yard pass from Kucker two minutes later and Groton led 20-19.  Less than a minute later Milbank scored again, this time on a 79-yard bomb, to lead 25-20, but back came GA with a Kucker two-yard run and a Johnson pass to Ehresmann to lead 28-25 with 5:44 to play.  Milbank put up the game’s final score on a 32-yard pass at the 2:45 mark for the final margin.
    Milbank had 288 passing and 93 on the ground to win the total yardage battle 381-330.  Groton Area had 121 rushing, led by Kucker’s 14-84, and 209 passing for a 330 total.  Kucker was also the Tigers’ top receiver with six catches for 98 yards.  Ehresmann had a monster defensive effort with 17 tackles.